The Veluwe, a jump back to the 19th century
Elspeet, Garderen, Staverden
For centuries, the sound of silence and the sweet smell of tranquillity have characterised the Veluwe. Perhaps that is the reason for your visit, but even in the late 19th century, the Veluwe beckoned. We delve into the lives of two remarkable ladies who exchanged the West for the Veluwe in the late 19th century: Blanche Douglas Hamilton and Helene Kröller-Müller. We cycle through the Ermelose Heide and the Speulder- en Sprielderbos. The landscape has changed with time but exudes history. Everything you cycle past today was there then too: the estates, the sheep pens, the humble-making nature and even the catering establishments included in the route. Perhaps Blanche or Helene once drank a cup of tea here. Built in 1876, the railway from Amersfoort to Zutphen was the second railway line in the Netherlands and made the Veluwe accessible to many. The villages of Nunspeet and Elspeet attracted many artists. The paint tube had just been invented so painting on location became incredibly popular. Between 1890 and 1950, some 200 visual artists lived temporarily in this region. Some of them often stayed for longer periods at Herberg de Zwaan in Elspeet. Among them were only two women. One of them was Blanche Douglas Hamilton, a 40-year-old unmarried English lady, who settled permanently in the village. How she ended up in Elspeet has never been ascertained but she got on very well with the villagers who mostly did not interfere with the newcomers. She was a free-spirited lady who was certainly not attached to Elspeet as evidenced by the drawings made in Jerusalem, Carnac and Corsica, among other places. People had difficulty pronouncing her name and conveniently called her 'the Miss'. Miss Hamilton also drew a lot in nature. Many of her drawings have Elspeet as their subject: Elspeet farms with sheep pens and flocks of sheep. We also encounter these while cycling today, and both the moors and the flocks of sheep still evoke a sense of wonder. A large number of Miss Hamilton's works are owned by Teylers Museum in Haarlem. Besides the artists, there was another group that went to the Veluwe: wealthy people from the West, made rich by the industrial revolution, among others, yearned for space and fresh air at the end of the 19th century and found it in the Veluwe. The royal family's residence, Crown Estate Het Loo, had a pull effect. Hunting houses were built and estates refurbished. At this time, hunting was the pastime for industrialists and nobility. The Kröller-Müller couple from The Hague made a fortune thanks to the Netherlands' neutrality policy in World War I and bought vast tracts of land a little to the east, intended for showing off and hunting. Helene Kröller-Müller additionally had the dream of connecting art and nature. As the daughter of a German industrialist, she only came into contact with art when she lived a jet-set life in The Hague with her husband Anton and their four children. She met the well-known painter and art critic H.P. Bremmer and, thanks to her fortune and his lessons, especially in modern art, a huge art collection developed, including many works by Vincent van Gogh, a painter no one believed in at the time. In 1911, Helene fell seriously ill. Faced with her own mortality, she decided to house her art collection in a museum. The recession made this an arduous process but Helene persevered anyway. In 1938, the Kröller-Müller museum opened in Otterlo. Helene died a year later. For Blanche and Helene, the Veluwe was a place where they could each connect art to nature in their own way. Now, a hundred years later, we seem to look through their eyes and feel the same wonderment for this unique landscape. The Veluwe was, is-and remains-a breeding ground for creativity and dreams that can come true. Photo Helene Kröller-Müller : Photo archive Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo Photo Blanche Douglas Hamilton: SNWV Nunspeet- Collectie Noord-Veluws Museum Nunspeet This premium cycling route was compiled by our editor: Yvonne Vlaskamp
| Directions | Distance | Total distance | |
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Start: Stakenbergweg , 8075 RE Nunspeet | 37.5 KM | |
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From
73
to
24
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3327 M | 3.3 KM | |
| Head southwest on Stakenbergweg | 1.2 KM | ||
| Turn right onto Oude Zwolseweg | 2.1 KM | ||
| You are now at section 24 | 0 M | ||
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From
24
to
84
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215 M | 0.2 KM | |
| Head northwest on Jonkheer Doctor C.J. Sandbergweg; Jhr. Dr. C.J. Sandbergweg | 150 M | ||
| Turn left to stay on Jonkheer Doctor C.J. Sandbergweg; Jhr. Dr. C.J. Sandbergweg | 65 M | ||
| You are now at section 84 | 0 M | ||
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From
84
to
83
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2346 M | 2.3 KM | |
| Head southwest | 778 M | ||
| Make a slight left | 1.6 KM | ||
| You are now at section 83 | 0 M | ||
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From
83
to
11
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246 M | 0.2 KM | |
| Head west on Postweg | 3 M | ||
| Turn left | 142 M | ||
| Turn left onto Flevoweg | 18 M | ||
| Turn right to stay on Flevoweg | 34 M | ||
| Turn left onto Tonnenberg | 49 M | ||
| You are now at section 11 | 0 M | ||
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From
11
to
96
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376 M | 0.4 KM | |
| Head west | 352 M | ||
| Turn right | 24 M | ||
| You are now at section 96 | 0 M | ||
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From
96
to
79
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2341 M | 2.3 KM | |
| Head west on Postweg | 2.3 KM | ||
| You are now at section 79 | 0 M | ||
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From
79
to
5
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1572 M | 1.6 KM | |
| Head southwest on Postweg | 1.6 KM | ||
| You are now at section 05 | 0 M | ||
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From
5
to
48
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893 M | 0.9 KM | |
| Head southwest on Postweg | 660 M | ||
| Continue straight | 229 M | ||
| Turn left onto Arnhemse Karweg | 4 M | ||
| You are now at section 48 | 0 M | ||
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From
48
to
56
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1301 M | 1.3 KM | |
| Head south on Arnhemse Karweg | 537 M | ||
| Turn left to stay on Arnhemse Karweg | 761 M | ||
| Turn left onto Nieuwe Prinsenweg | 3 M | ||
| You are now at section 56 | 0 M | ||
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From
56
to
97
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3379 M | 3.4 KM | |
| Head northeast on Nieuwe Prinsenweg | 2.7 KM | ||
| Continue straight | 288 M | ||
| Turn left onto Sprielderweg | 386 M | ||
| Turn right | 33 M | ||
| You are now at section 97 | 0 M | ||
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From
97
to
59
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3805 M | 3.8 KM | |
| Head south on Kruipad | 3.4 KM | ||
| Turn left onto Garderenseweg | 71 M | ||
| Turn right onto Speulderweg | 293 M | ||
| You are now at section 59 | 0 M | ||
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From
59
to
60
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2938 M | 2.9 KM | |
| Head northeast on Paleisweg | 2.9 KM | ||
| You are now at section 60 | 0 M | ||
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From
60
to
47
|
3320 M | 3.3 KM | |
| Head northwest on Flevoweg | 1 KM | ||
| Turn left | 55 M | ||
| Continue straight | 6 M | ||
| Turn left onto Speulderveld | 2.2 KM | ||
| You are now at section 47 | 0 M | ||
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From
47
to
1
|
2537 M | 2.5 KM | |
| Head north on Hessenmeer | 318 M | ||
| Turn right onto Koningsweg | 1.3 KM | ||
| Turn right onto Flevoweg | 14 M | ||
| Turn left onto Koningsweg | 945 M | ||
| You are now at section 01 | 0 M | ||
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From
1
to
86
|
2059 M | 2.1 KM | |
| Head north on Uddelermeerweg | 1.3 KM | ||
| Turn left onto Uddelermeerweg | 774 M | ||
| You are now at section 86 | 0 M | ||
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From
86
to
87
|
1290 M | 1.3 KM | |
| Head east on Staverdenseweg | 1.3 KM | ||
| You are now at section 87 | 0 M | ||
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From
87
to
89
|
2281 M | 2.3 KM | |
| Head east on Staverdenseweg | 1.1 KM | ||
| Turn left to stay on Staverdenseweg | 72 M | ||
| Turn left onto Merelweg | 669 M | ||
| Turn right onto Stakenbergweg | 448 M | ||
| You are now at section 89 | 0 M | ||
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From
89
to
88
|
2058 M | 2.1 KM | |
| Head northeast on Nachtegaalweg | 142 M | ||
| Turn left onto Schapendrift | 1.9 KM | ||
| You are now at section 88 | 0 M | ||
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From
88
to
73
|
1259 M | 1.3 KM | |
| Head northwest on Schapendrift | 1.3 KM | ||
| You are now at section 73 | 0 M |